March 26, 2003

M. Icers Best in Land

In the latest USCHO.com poll released yesterday, the men’s hockey team (28-4-1, 19-2-1 ECAC) claimed the No. 1 spot in the country. The top billing was the first for Cornell since the poll has been in existence. The Red claimed 28 of a possible 40 first-place votes, with the remaining 12 going to the previous No. 1 team, Colorado College.

Cornell moved up to the No. 1 slot after winning two games over the weekend en route to the ECAC Tournament championship. The Red, in classic fashion, stymied Brown in the semifinals by a 2-0 score before winning a memorable final by a 3-2 overtime score over Harvard.

Meanwhile, Colorado College, which had had a stranglehold on the top spot, dropped one spot after losing in the WCHA finals to Minnesota. The WCHA-champion Gophers, moved up to No. 4 by virtue of its big win. Sandwiched between the two WCHA teams is No. 3 UNH, which won the Hockey East Tournament last weekend.

Although it lost to Michigan in the finals of the CCHA tournament, Ferris St. dropped just one spot to No. 5.

Boston University checked in at No. 6, while the aforementioned Wolverines checked in at seventh. Boston College, Maine, and Harvard rounded out the top 10. The Crimson, despite losing the ECAC final to Cornell, rose two spots.

Cornell’s first round opponent in the NCAA Tournament, MSU-Mankato is No. 11 this week, while North Dakota, Ohio State, Minnesota-Duluth, and St. Cloud State comprised the remainder of the top 15.

The Red was selected as a No. 1 seed in the East Region of the NCAA Tournament. However, Cornell has arguably the toughest bracket, as it must go through MSU-Mankato and either Boston College or Ohio State en route to the Frozen Four. Cornell will begin its quest for the national championship when it plays MSU-Mankato at noon on Saturday in Providence, R.I.

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In response to the recent reports of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), an illness causing atypical pneumonia and acute respiratory conditions, Gannett: Cornell University Health Services has issued several advisories on SARS to help the community remain informed about the illness. As of yesterday, the World Health Organization (WHO) has documented 487 SARS cases worldwide, including 17 deaths. 45 cases are under investigation in the United States. SARS, an illness of unknown causes, was first reported in southern China in Guangdong Province as early as last November. In addition to China, WHO has also received reports of SARS cases from Hong Kong, Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, and Canada. Kevin Nadolny ’04, who was hired to do research in China this summer, said that he does not plan to change his plans for traveling abroad. “It’s good to be informed about the illness but to panic about the issue is unnecessary,” he said. There have been no reported cases affecting anyone within the Cornell community. “Gannett’s clinical staff members have been trained to screen patients who meet the case definition for SARS and to take precautionary measures as needed to care for the patient,” according to Sharon Dittman, associate director for community relations at Gannett: Cornell University Health Services. One student with family in Hong Kong expressed his concerns about SARS. “Its spread throughout Asia poses a threat not only to my family and friends there, but it also appears that the range of the disease can be a threat to America,” sad Vincent Hull ’04. The main symptoms of SARS are high fever, dry cough and breathing difficulties, according to WHO. Other symptoms may include headache, muscular stiffness, loss of appetite, rash and diarrhea. WHO reports that “close contact” with an infected person is necessary for the illness to spread. Only hospital workers caring for SARS patients and close family members of patients have been affected so far. Dittman noted that with flu and allergies in peak season, students should only seek medical evaluation if they have traveled to Asia in the past seven days or have had face-to-face contact with someone who has recently traveled in Asia in addition to having a fever, cough, or difficulty breathing. “We don’t want everyone who has flu or allergy symptoms to be worried about this rare illness. At the same time, we want to be a resource to the community for both information and health care,” Dittman said. In the recent weeks, Gannett: Cornell University Health Services has stayed in close contact with the New York State Department of Health and the Tompkins County Health Department. They have also worked with University abroad programs and travel offices to alert students who have been traveling in countries at risk, according to Dittman. “Some people might have been to Asia during spring break,” Dittman said, noting the large group of travelers in the community and the high traffic between Cornell and countries at risk. “The speed of international travel creates a risk that cases can rapidly spread around the world,” according to WHO. The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a travel advisory stating that U.S. citizens planning nonessential travel to regions affected by SARS may wish to postpone their trips until further notice. However, WHO “has not recommended restricting travel to any destination in the world” but has warned travelers to be aware of the main symptoms and signs of SARS. Detailed information about SARS can be found at the CDC’s Traveler’s Health website www.cdc.gov/travel www.gannett.cornell.eduand http://www.who.int/en/ Archived article by Janet Liao

The Cornell University Gay-Straight Alliance (CUGSA) and the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Resource Center launched its Safe Place Project yesterday, which seeks to increase awareness, and open communication lines for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) students. Members of the Cornell community received e-mail notifications yesterday and have the opportunity to show their support for individuals who may have questions or simply want to discuss their concerns about sexual orientation. “[The Safe Place Project] is a campus-wide diversity initiative, and is essentially a visibility campaign,” said program coordinator John Connelly ’03. All members of the Cornell community can get involved. Participants sign up for a Safe Place card which can be displayed virtually anywhere, including office buildings and residence halls. Safe Place cards indicate that the participants support LGBT awareness. In addition, since this program is open to everybody, heterosexual individuals will have the ability to learn about the challenges that LGBT students face. “[The heterosexual individuals] feel like they’re more able to communicate with their LGBT peers, [and it helps] open up conversations,” adds Connelly. “Part of the program is to make people aware of the biases against LGBT people,” said Sarah Simpkins, advisor of the Safe Place Project, and of Haven, a LGBT social support group. In the past two years, bias conflicts reported have been due to sexual orientation and perceived sexual orientation. Connelly points out that this program “is a way to counteract the negative incidences,” by increasing awareness and providing a sanctuary where sexual discrimination is both discussed and challenged. “A long time now, since 1999, students have been bringing up why Cornell doesn’t have this [program],” adds Simpkins. Since Fall 2000, members of CUGSA have been looking into initiating this project at Cornell. The Safe Place project has already been initiated at other universities, such as Ithaca College, Carnegie Mellon, Texas A&M, Georgetown, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, New York University, Purdue, and Iowa State, with many positive results. Studies Furthermore, a study done by Dr. Nancy Evans at Iowa State University confirmed that Safe Place has a positive effect on the mental and emotional well-being of LGBT students. Participants do not act as counselors, but as people whom LGBT individuals can feel comfortable talking to about their sexual orientation. They can also direct LGBT individuals to the appropriate resource services. Reactions from Cornellians to this project, although positive, are met with some uncertainty on its general acceptance among other students. “It would increase awareness, but it might give homophobics an excuse to make jokes,” said Lucy Zhu ’06. “[I] just hope that it will be a successful project. We anticipate a large amount of participants, [and we hope] more people will get involved,” said Connelly.Archived article by Mary Chu